Butterball, 2 More Head For Ill. Turkey Price-Fix Trials

By Lauraann Wood

An Illinois federal judge handling consolidated turkey price-fixing litigation has teed up two trials against Butterball and two other major producers as he works through a pile of summary judgment challenges from defendants looking to avoid jury trials.

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Ill. Feds Fight Discovery, But Not Fees, In ICE Protest Case

By Celeste Bott

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Chicago has agreed that a group of anti-ICE protesters whose criminal case was dismissed when prosecutorial misconduct before the grand jury that indicted them came to light is entitled to recover attorney fees, but argued Tuesday that their bid to conduct discovery into any bad faith by the government amounted to a "fishing expedition."

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FTC, States Settle John Deere Right-To-Repair Case

By Matthew Perlman

The Federal Trade Commission and state enforcers reached a deal Wednesday to settle an antitrust case accusing John Deere of restricting equipment repairs, after the company agreed to give farmers and independent technicians the resources it provides to authorized dealers.

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Baxter Beats Stable Value Fund 401(k) Plan Suit, For Good

By Gina Kim

Baxter International permanently defeated a proposed class action claiming the relatively low returns of the medical products company's employee retirement plan were evidence of mismanagement, after an Illinois federal judge ruled Tuesday the allegations only show the stable value fund in the plan "may not have been best in class — nothing more."

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Block To Pay $45M To End State Claims Over Cash App Fraud

By Aislinn Keely

A coalition of 46 states announced Wednesday that Cash App parent company Block Inc. will pay $45 million in a multistate settlement to resolve claims it misled users on the safety of its payment app and failed to protect them from fraud.

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Brief

McDonald's Ends Suit Alleging Rampant Sex Harassment

By Grace Elletson

McDonald's has struck a deal with two workers to end their proposed class action claiming the fast food giant allowed sexual harassment to go unchecked in its restaurants, prompting an Illinois federal judge to formally shutter the case.

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Brief

Snack Cos. Say DOJ Deal Demands Price-Fix Verdict Revisit

By Nadia Dreid

Kraft, Kellogg, Nestle and General Mills want an Illinois federal judge to schedule a status conference "imminently" in their long-running antitrust suit to ask Cal-Maine Foods Inc. about a deal it recently reached with the government over claims it inflated the price of eggs and how it affects their $53 million jury verdict.

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Navistar Expert Says GLS Missteps, Not Delays, Drove Losses

By Susan Smiley

Navistar's economic damages expert testified in Michigan federal court Wednesday that it was a Warren truck buyer's bad business decisions that led to the company losing millions, not the late delivery of 1,100 tractor-trailer vehicles that Navistar was supposed to deliver in June 2022.

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Viridis Chemical Gets OK On Ch. 11 Plan After Sale

By Alex Wittenberg

A Texas bankruptcy judge on Wednesday signed off on bio-based chemical technology company Viridis Chemical LLC's Chapter 11 liquidation plan, more than a month after the debtor sold most of its assets.

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Ohio Fuels Litigation Funding Debate As Foreign Ban Is Enacted

By Ryan Boysen

Ohio has enacted a sweeping law that bans all foreign litigation funders from doing business in the Buckeye State, drawing praise from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and outrage from the litigation finance industry.

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ABA Seeks Trump Docs In Suit Alleging Law Firm Intimidation

By Emily Sawicki

The Trump administration cannot rely on the presidential communications privilege to block disclosure of communications related to allegations that the president sought to intimidate BigLaw firms into conforming with his policy initiatives, the American Bar Association told a D.C. federal judge.

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Trump's SDNY Pick Steps In As Clayton Focuses On DC

By Pete Brush

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton said Wednesday that President Donald Trump's pick to succeed him, James McDonald, will assume a leadership role as Clayton works on his own nomination for director of national intelligence in Washington.

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Judge Says Warning 'Sufficient Deterrent,' Nixing AI Sanctions

By Emily Sawicki

A Kentucky federal judge has declined to sanction two attorneys who filed a brief that included errors generated by artificial intelligence amid a fraud case against a notary public, finding the lawyers had no history of misconduct and had shown sufficient remorse.

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Wis. Judge Avoids Prison Time In ICE Obstruction Sentence

By Nate Beck

A former Wisconsin state judge on Wednesday was fined $5,000 but will not serve prison time for obstructing the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrest of a defendant in her courtroom by directing him down a private hallway away from agents before he was later captured.

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Del. Judge Recuses Herself From Apollo $570M Payout Suit

By Katryna Perera

The Delaware vice chancellor presiding over litigation regarding a $570 million payout to Apollo Global Management Inc. insiders has disqualified herself from the case after a possible conflict of interest arose due to her former role as an attorney with Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP, which was involved in a merger with ties to the payout.

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Ga. Judge Rejects UPS Plaintiff's Bid To Force Recusal

By Madison Arnold

A Georgia federal judge reportedly disciplined for having sexual intercourse in her chambers and attending a political event has opted not to recuse herself in the case of a former UPS employee in his dismissed racial discrimination lawsuit.

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McCarter Trial Judge Has 'Serious Doubts' About NY Expert

By Brian Steele

The Hartford judge presiding over a $22.5 million lawsuit against McCarter & English LLP and a former partner said Wednesday he had "serious doubts" about allowing testimony from a defense expert, but let him proceed as long as he did not claim to interpret New York law.

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Morgan & Morgan Malpractice Fight Won't Get Another Review

By Kelcey Caulder

The Georgia Court of Appeals has rejected Morgan & Morgan PA's bid to challenge a trial court ruling denying the firm's summary judgment motion in a legal malpractice case brought against it by clients seeking representation in a personal injury action.

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Day Pitney Can't Be Cut Off From New Counsel, Client Says

By Aaron Keller

A former Connecticut chief justice's ethics gaffe cannot preclude fellow lawyers at Day Pitney LLP from communicating with new counsel for John B. Clinton, a private equity management firm owner locked in a 13-year-old, $1.3 million corporate windup lawsuit, Clinton has urged a Connecticut state court judge to conclude.

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